Aug 5, 2010

Greek meatballs, otherwise known as Keftedes are traditionally made with lamb or beef and make a delicious appetizer with some tzatziki (cucumber yogurt sauce) for dipping. These meatballs have been lightened using turkey instead along with a secret ingredient... zucchini. Don't tell your kids!

This is zucchini season, and if you are running out of ideas of how to use up all your garden zucchini, you'll welcome this idea, a great way to add fiber to your meatballs. I pan fried these today, but they are also terrific on the grill. Because of the moistness the zucchini adds to these meatballs, they are a bit delicate and don't hold their round shape, so they will look more like mini patties (this also helps it cook in the center). Refrigerating the meat before cooking helps to hold them together if you want to grill them. Serve them with Skinny Tzatziki or also great in a pita with a slice of tomato and tzatziki on top. My 8 month old loved them!!

This is definitely a much cooler version of the classic ones made with beef mince! Definitely picnic food on the beach for tomorrow! Out of curiosity please do me a favour and estimate points if we use lean beef mince, cause finding turkey mince in Greece, on a Sat Afternoon, in August is nearly next to impossible!

Wow, Gina! Once again I couldn't find ground turkey in Singapore, so was forced to use ground chicken. These are still so amazing! And that tzaziki! What a hit! I'm eating these for lunch while I type :)

I liked them a lot, but had flatten them a bit to cook, more like mini-sliders than meatballs, otherwise I couldn't get the middle to cook well throughout. If I try them again, I thought maybe baking them first would make it easier to cook entirely.

I made these today and they turned out great. I actually used the 99% FF turkey because I bought it by mistake. I was worried it would be too dry, but with the zucchini and the onion it stayed moist, and even healthier. The Tzatziki sauce is just brings it to another level! I went to 2 stores and couldn't find the whole wheat bread crumbs though. Do you have any suggestions on where to buy these? Already looking for what I'm going to try next weekend!

Made these last night on the grill with your macaroni salad and tzatziki to rave reviews!!!! Super tasty, they stayed so moist even on the grill. Your recipes are a staple in my home, I make at least 2 a week :)

Made these tonight. I left out the mint and used Italian seasoning instead. They took longer to cook than I thought so next time I will make them flatter (maybe like slider thickness and these would make great sliders, too). I have enough leftovers for a pita sandwich tomorrow with roasted garlic hummus and bell pepper. YUM!

I made this tonight and it was soooo good! I just found this blog and this is the first recipe I've made. I'll be making more for sure! One question though. Is there something you can substitute for the zuccini in the wintertime. I would love to make this all year round.

*sigh* Didn't have luck with these. They smelled so good, but didn't cook very well. I think I had the pan too hot. The outsides had pretty much burned and the middles were still slightly pink. I think next time I will bake them like the asian meatballs. Oh well. I'll try them again later.

I made these the other night and even my vegie hating 6 year old loved them, I also hid a grated carrot in them! I love your website and you'll be pleased to know that I have passed it onto so many other Aussies and we all LOVE it!!! I'm getting really good at converting oz to grams!Thanks Jane

Gina - want serve these as a app at a cocktail party. For purposes of kitchen time/entertaining, could I start these in a frying pan before the party to get the outsides nice and then finish them in the oven? And if so, what temp/time would you start with? Thanks!

YUM! I made these up last night and cooked them off this afternoon for lunch. I had 1/2 serving (crumbled them up a little) on 2 deli flats w/ feta, tomato, red onion & skinny tzatziki * all for only 6 pts. Sooo good. Totally tastes like a gyro. You could even flatten these out into gyro meat size pieces to lay out on pita. I didn't have spearmint but who cares when it tastes this great. Thanks for another wonderful recipe.BTW - this is the 3rd recipe of yours that I have done in 3 days. Tonight hubby and I are trying the Chicken Francese. Can't wait & will review it tomorrow.

I made these last night and my husband and I both raved about them! He grilled them and they turned out fantastic! I served them with a greek salad and the Tzatzki. Next time I am going to make a bigger batch and freeze for more meals. Thanks for the recipe!

I just made these for lunch and they were so yummy! The only thing I did different was I left out the spearmint just because I didn't have any. I baked them in the oven and served them with the skinny cucumber ranch dressing in whole wheat pitas with lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. Oh my heavenly goodness!Thanks for all these wonderful recipes. So far I haven't made anything my family didn't like. :)

I didn't squeeze the juice out of the zucchini when I made these tonight (because I mistakenly skipped the step, not because I know what I'm doing) and they came out super delicious and moist. Going to keep skipping that step in the future! :)

I just want to say THANKS for all the fresh, creative recipes!! Able to eat well, stay satififed...and on track with my points! Made these for dinner yesterday. Loved the addition of mint! Four meatballs is a nice serving! Served them on a whole wheat pita with diced tomato, red onion, cucumber and of course, your amazing skinny tzatziki sauce. Clever way to sneak a veggie in on my husband, too!

I made these into Gyros with your skinny tzaski sauce. AWESOME! And filling, I wasn't hungry for hours after. My DH was skeptical at first ( I made the meatballs with ground chicken since it was on sale) but he said it was one of the best things I have ever made.

These were delicious!!! I actually omitted the bread, breadcrumbs and egg and they were still really good and had less points, so I stuffed them into a pita with the tzatziki and some tomato wedges, and a salad on the side... great weeknight meal!!!!

I just found your blog last week, and I am scooping up recipes as quickly as I can!!!

I made these turkey meatballs and Tzatziki last night. My husband and I didn't really know how to grate things (the large grater like cheese, microplane, etc.), so we had quite a learning curve. They were a bunch more work than I thought but they were very satisfying. I couldn't even eat the full 4-meatball portion (and that NEVER happens)!

We served them with roasted spaghetti squash, although I think next time we'll try them in a pita.

I found this recipe (with the Tzatziki sauce) time consuming, but worth it. Delicious and when put in a pita tasted just like a Gyro. The effort is worth the taste, especially since the Tzatziki is free points.

These were great, I'm going o use the zucchini idea in all my burgers! The skinny tzaziki was good too, but even better the following day. I didn't have time to strain the yogurt, but since it was Greek, it was still super thick. These were a hit!

I made these for dinner with the skinny tzatziki, and they were delicious!! I always love your recipes, and have been using your recipes a few times a week! I didn't have all the fresh herbs, so I used the chives and dill from the tzatziki in place of the oregano, parsley, and mint. Any advice for having fresh herbs on hand? Do you grow the herbs in your home or do you always buy them for your recipes?

I'm dying to try this but can't find spearmint... I'm sure I can make them without it but would rather try this recipe as described and then adjust it if I have to. Any idea where I can find spearmint? My "chain" supermarkets don't seem to carry spearmint. Any suggestions where I could find it? I live on Long Island NY... thanks!

I just made these for dinner and they were fantastic! I ended up having to use dried oregano and parsley- definitely use less of those if you are not using fresh herbs. They were still delicious! I served them with tzatziki and a greek salad and basmati rice. We are having them for dinner again tomorrow :) Thank you for the fantastic recipes!

I made these before & they were fantastic! But now I need to make them gluten free (no bread or bread crumbs). My roommate uses almond meal in his meatballs, but they tasted so dried out I almost choked! (I don't think he knows what's he is doing.

These are sooo delicious -- they've become a family favorite. I typically will freeze half the meatballs for a future meal. Once defrosted and warmed up in a frying pan with some cooking spray, they might actually be even tastier! Love eating them with the Oikos Cucumber Dill Greek Yogurt dip.

Okay, if ANYONE could mess this up, I can!!! and I did!!! BUT it was still SO yummy!!! The breadcrumb were 6 inches from the mixing bowl! How could I forget to put them in??? I did not go back to the computer to check the ingredients list, and did not include the last 7 ingredients as well! DOH!!!! I added about a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of grated assiago cheese as I had that in the fridge, and made them into very moist slider patties. Carefully transferred the patties to a metal rack over a pan to catch the drippings. Baked for about 20-30 minutes, turned the patties over, then baked for a while longer. Time unknown. They developed a golden colour, and when topped with a dollop of tzaziki sauce on the slider burger bun, ended up tasting fantastic. I think it was the assiago cheese that made the difference as they had a different taste than my usual turkey burgers.So I screwed the recipe up but STILL ended up with great burgers!!! YAY ME!!!

So i had to come back and leave a comment on how amazing these meatballs are! I have been making them since they first came out on the website and they are always so amazing. My husband and I eat them so many different ways as well, which is another reason why i love them. We love them over a sald, in a pita or just plain! I usually make these the night before and cook them in the morning and they turn out great. I make them GF by omitting the bread (trying to use less carbs) and using a GF breadcrumb and they turn out great. Everytime I eat them, people comment on how wonderful looking and smelling they are. Your really missing out if you haven't tried these!

Just made these tonight :) I didnt have zucs so I used a cucumber and I was out of mint so I used a drop of spearmint extract. They came perfect! Paired with some greek yogurt mixed with lemon juice and garlic. Delish! We had it over couscous. My 7 month old was diving for the bowl